Film Screening 21st September, 2018

The Wife

7:30 PM, 21st September, 2018

Rating M

Length 100 mins

Year 2017

No one could accuse Joan Castleman (Close) of shirking in her support of husband Joe (Pryce) and his career throughout their 40-year marriage. Therefore, when the couple heard he’s won the Nobel Prize in literature it felt like a joint victory. As she considers the cost of this prize to her own writing career and dignity, on the way to the ceremony, she comes to a life-changing decision just before he’s due to receive it.

The story is told through flashbacks that gradually reveal a union based on lies and uneven compromises (with Close’s own daughter Annie Maude Starke playing Joan’s younger self). Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Meg Wolitzer, The Wife does more than question the sacrifices people make in relationships. It’s also a searing and complex look at the inherent biases women have faced in the arts and the games they’ve often been forced to play.

At one point Joan retorts “don’t paint me as a victim, I’m much more interesting than that”. Find out why in this well-told and unsettling drama.

Iris Lowe

Kodachrome

9:20 PM, 21st September, 2018

Rating M

Length 105 mins

Year 2017

In 2010, Dwayne’s Photo Lab in Kansas became the last store in the world to develop Kodachrome film. In its final days of processing Kodachrome, many people from across the globe travelled to the store to get canisters developed before it was too late.

Inspired by this story, Kodachrome depicts the life of Ben Ryder (Harris), a famous photojournalist in the final stages of cancer. Ben’s sole wish before he passes away is to get his last few rolls of Kodachrome developed before the deadline, necessitating a road trip to Kansas he cannot undergo alone. Joining Ben on the road trip are his nurse, Zooey (Olsen), as well as his estranged son, Matt (Sudeikis), who is hesitant to spend time with his father again.

Kodachrome particularly excels in depicting the complexity of the father-son relationship between Ben and Matt, which lies at the core of the film. In doing so, the film has drawn comparisons with 2013’s Nebraska, also an acclaimed drama about a road trip between an estranged father and son. And, in keeping with the movie’s nostalgia towards pre-digital photography, Kodachrome was shot on 35mm film.